Monmouth County and a dozen others in New Jersey fail to meet a new federal standard for fine particle pollution, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today[1].

[2]

Tail pipes are sources of fine particles

The standard, revised in 2006, is 35 micrograms of fine particles per cubic meter over a 24-hour period, according to the EPA.

Sources of fine particles include motor vehicles, power plants, wood burning and certain industrial processes, according to the agency.

Thousands of studies have linked exposure to tiny particles, which are about 1/30th the width of a human hair, with serious human health problems, the agency says.

They include premature death in those with heart and lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, and increased hospital admissions and doctor and emergency room visits for respiratory and cardiovascular disease, according to the EPA.

“Nonattainment” areas include counties with air quality monitors that violate the standard and nearby areas that contribute to the violation, according to the EPA.

The EPA has provided a map [3]showing nonattainment areas across the nation.

The federal Clean Air Act requires state, local and tribal governments to take steps to control fine particle pollution in nonattainment areas. Steps may include tighter controls on industrial facilities and measures that address transportation-related sources, according to the EPA.

State and local governments must develop plans that show how they will meet the standard by 2014. The EPA may give extensions for up to five years in areas with more severe problems and where emission control measures are not available or feasible, according to the agency.

The state Department of Environmental Protection Web site [4]has lots of information on air quality and regulation in New Jersey.

The state has “already made a lot of progress in reducing” particle pollution, said William O’Sullivan, director of the DEP’s Division of Air Quality.

The DEP has taken steps to meet the annual standard for fine particles that will also address complying with the 24-hour standard, O’Sullivan said.

They include the agency’s Diesel Retrofit Program, a pollution rule that covers the seven coal-fired power plants in New Jersey and an imminent proposal that would require low-sulfur home heating oil, he said. The state would be the first to require the latter, he said.

The DEP will consider other measures to meet the 24-hour standard, such as banning the use of fireplaces on bad air days, he said.

He’s confident the state will comply with the standard within the five-year deadline, he said.